Next Stop MIAC Championship Meet

ST. PAUL, Minn. (2/07/15)—Sarah Nelson led Concordia in its final competition before the MIAC Championship Meet. Nelson posted four top 10 finishes at the St. Thomas Invite and all four came with season best times.

Nelson was a part of Cobber contingent that had 20 top 10 finishes, eight top 5 finishes and a slew of season best marks as CC prepares for the conference meet in two weeks.

Nelson swam a 1:04.09 and was sixth in the 100-yard butterfly. That time is a season best and is in the top 25 times of the conference this year. She was also eighth in the 200-yard freestyle with a season best time of 2:09.51. Nelson continued her quartet of top 10's by touching the pad in 2:26.62 in the 200-yard butterfly. That was good for a fourth-place finish and the finishing time pushes her into the top 20 of the MIAC this year. Finally, she was eighth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 58.65.        

Ann Marie O'Connell had the top finish for the Cobbers at the meet. She was second in the 400-yard individual medley with a season-best time of 5:05.48. That time is 1.04 seconds outside the top 20 in the MIAC. O'Connell was also fifth in the 200-yard butterfly with a conference top 25 mark of 2:28.78.

Libby Hardwick had a pair of top 5 finishes in two of the most competitive events of the day. She was fifth in both the 100 and 200-yard backstroke. She came home in 1:06.25 in the 100-yard race and recorded a mark of 2:23.64 in the 200-yard event.

Joleen Plekkenpol, Jordyn Olson and Abbey Benson had the other top 5 finishes for Concordia. Plekkenpol was fifth in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:08.42. Olson earned a third-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley at 5:21.40 and Abbey Benson was fourth in the same race after coming home in 5:26.48.

Concordia will now have two weeks to train and taper for the MIAC Conference Championship Meet. The MIAC Meet will take place on Feb. 19-21 at the University of Minnesota.    

Cobber Top 10 Finishes at the St. Thomas Invite
400-yard individual medley – Ann Marie O'Connell – 2nd – 5:05.48
400-yard individual medley – Jordyn Olson – 3rd – 5:21.40
400-yard individual medley – Abbey Benson – 4th – 5:26.48
100-yard butterfly – Sarah Nelson – 6th – 1:04.09
100-yard butterfly – Ann Marie O'Connell – 8th – 1:04.77
200-yard freestyle – Joleen Plekkenpol  - 5th – 2:08.42
200-yard freestyle – Sarah Nelson – 8th – 2:09.51
200-yard freestyle – Siri Berry – 9th – 2:10.45
200-yard freestyle – Lily Johnson – 10th – 2:10.65
100-yard backstroke – Libby Hardwick – 5th – 1:06.25
200-yard backstroke – Libby Hardwick – 5th – 2:23.64
200-yard backstroke – Katrina Teskey – 8th – 2:29.65
200-yard backstroke – Abbey Benson – 9th – 2:31.03
200-yard backstroke – Abby Gunderson – 10th – 2:31.57
100-yard freestyle – Sarah Nelson – 8th – 58.65
200-yard breaststroke – Hannah Winge – 10th – 2:54.68
200-yard butterfly – Sarah Nelson – 4th – 2:26.62
200-yard butterfly – Ann Marie O'Connell – 5th – 2:28.78
200-yard butterfly – Abbey Benson – 6th – 2:36.60
200-yard butterfly – Siri Berry – 7th – 2:37.21